Food Cost Control: The Complete Guide for South African Restaurants

Food costs are the single biggest controllable expense in any restaurant. In South Africa, with food inflation running at 4.5% year-on-year (September 2025) and moderating to around 3.7% in 2026, every rand you save on food cost control goes straight to your bottom line. Yet many South African restaurant owners still lack accurate food cost tracking — and that gap is costing them thousands in lost profit each month.

Without a clear view of your food cost percentage, you’re flying blind. You might assume you’re profitable because the till is busy, only to discover at month-end that rising ingredient prices and hidden waste have eroded your margin. The good news: food cost is one of the few levers you can pull directly. Labour, rent, and utilities are largely fixed in the short term; what you spend on ingredients, how you portion it, and how much you waste are all within your control.

This guide gives you everything you need to calculate, track, and reduce food costs in your restaurant: the formulas, the benchmarks, and the practical strategies that work in the SA market. We’ll cover how to calculate food cost percentage step-by-step, how to cost individual recipes with precision, and how to use South Africa’s current inflation data to make smarter menu and buying decisions. Whether you run a full-service restaurant, a fast-food outlet, or a café, mastering food cost control is non-negotiable for long-term survival.

What Is Food Cost Percentage and Why It Matters

Food cost percentage is the ratio of what you spend on food (ingredients that become the dishes you sell) to the revenue those dishes generate. It answers: Of every R100 in food sales, how many rands went to buying the ingredients?

The formula

Food cost % = (Cost of Goods Sold ÷ Total Food Revenue) × 100

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) = The actual cost of the food you used to produce what you sold in a given period.
Total Food Revenue = All sales from food items (excluding drinks, if you track them separately).

Example: If your COGS for the month is R85 000 and your food revenue is R280 000:

Food cost % = (85 000 ÷ 280 000) × 100 = 30.4%

So for every R100 in food sales, R30.40 went to ingredients. The rest covers labour, rent, utilities, and profit.

Ideal food cost percentage by restaurant type

Restaurant type	Typical food cost %	Notes
Full-service restaurant	28–35%	Table service, higher labour and ambience
Fast food / QSR	25–30%	High volume, standardised portions
Café / coffee shop	28–32%	Mix of food and beverage
Fine dining	30–35%	Premium ingredients, smaller portions
Catering	25–35%	Depends on event type and markup

There is no single “correct” number — it depends on your concept, location, and labour costs. But if you don’t know your number, you can’t manage it.

What happens when food cost creeps above target

When your food cost percentage drifts above your target (e.g. from 30% to 36%):

Profit shrinks. A 6% swing on R500 000 monthly food sales is R30 000 less gross profit per month.
You’re effectively subsidising every plate. You’re either undercharging, over-portioning, or wasting too much.
You have no buffer for wage increases, rent, or unexpected repairs.

That’s why a food cost percentage calculator approach — knowing your COGS and revenue and computing the percentage regularly — is the foundation of food cost control in any South African restaurant.

How to Calculate Food Cost: Step-by-Step

To get your food cost percentage, you first need Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The formula is:

COGS = Beginning inventory + Purchases − Ending inventory

Beginning inventory = Total value of food on hand at the start of the period (e.g. first day of the month or week).
Purchases = All food and supplies bought during that period (from invoices and delivery notes).
Ending inventory = Total value of food on hand at the end of the period.

Whatever “disappeared” between start and end (plus what you bought) is what you used — your COGS.

Practical example with ZAR figures

Assume you’re tracking monthly food cost for a mid-size restaurant.

Step 1: Beginning inventory (1 March)
You count and value every item in the walk-in, dry store, and prep areas. Total value: R42 000.

Step 2: Purchases during March
You add up all food supplier invoices for March: R156 000.

Step 3: Ending inventory (31 March)
You count again and value everything left: R38 000.

COGS = 42 000 + 156 000 − 38 000 = R160 000

Step 4: Food revenue for March
From your POS or accounting system, total food sales for March: R520 000.

Step 5: Food cost percentage

Food cost % = (160 000 ÷ 520 000) × 100 = 30.8%

So you’re in the 28–35% band for full-service — healthy, as long as labour and other costs are under control.

Weekly vs monthly tracking

Weekly: Better for spotting problems fast (theft, waste, portion creep). More work: weekly stock takes and disciplined data entry.
Monthly: Easier to sustain and aligns with financial reporting. Good minimum for small operations.

Many successful SA restaurants do a full count monthly and a quick count of high-value items (meat, seafood, cheese) weekly. The more often you calculate food cost, the sooner you can correct course.

Recipe Costing: The Foundation of Food Cost Control

Knowing your overall food cost percentage is essential — but you also need to know what each dish actually costs. Recipe costing (plate costing) is how you get there.

How to cost a single recipe

List every ingredient in the recipe (including oil, salt, garnishes).
Convert to cost per unit used.
Example: You buy whole chicken at R85/kg. The recipe uses 180 g.
Cost = (85 ÷ 1000) × 180 = R15.30 for chicken per portion.
Do this for every ingredient (per gram, per ml, per unit).
Add them up = total plate cost (food only).
Add a margin for waste/spillage if you don’t track it elsewhere (e.g. 2–5%).

That plate cost is your COGS per portion. If you sell the dish for R120 and the plate cost is R36, your food cost for that item is 30%.

If you want to hold a 30% food cost on a dish:

Plate cost = R40
Selling price = Plate cost ÷ Target food cost % = 40 ÷ 0.30 = R133.33 → round to R135 or R139 for psychology.

So: Selling price = Plate cost ÷ (Target food cost % ÷ 100).

This doesn’t mean every dish must hit exactly 30%. You can have some items at 25% (high margin) and others at 35% (traffic builders or signature items), as long as the overall food cost stays in range. That’s where menu pricing strategy and menu engineering come in.

Why gram-level precision matters

Rounding to “one onion” or “a cup of flour” leads to hidden cost creep. One large onion might be 200 g; another 120 g. A “cup” of flour can vary by 30 g depending on how it is scooped. Over dozens of ingredients and hundreds of covers, those errors add up — often to 2–5% of food cost that you never see on a spreadsheet. Costing by gram and ml (e.g. 120 g chicken, 15 ml oil) gives you:

Accurate plate costs you can trust.
Reliable food cost percentages when you roll up all recipes.
A clear view when supplier prices change: update the ingredient price once and every recipe using it recalculates.

Tools like Tafela’s recipe builder use gram-level precision so you can cost recipes once, update ingredient prices when suppliers change, and see your plate cost and food cost % update automatically. That turns recipe costing from a once-off exercise into an ongoing food cost control system.

SA Food Cost Benchmarks by Category

South African food inflation isn’t even across categories. Knowing where prices are rising (or falling) helps you adapt your menu and buying.

Category	YoY inflation (Sept 2025)	What it means for your menu
Meat	11.7%	Highest pressure; consider portions, cuts, specials
Oils & fats	4.7%	Fryer and pastry costs creeping up
Sugar	4.1%	Desserts and beverages
Bread & cereals	Moderate	Relatively stable base
Vegetables	Variable by item	Seasonal; use local and seasonal where possible
Dairy & eggs	-1.6% (declining)	Opportunity to feature dairy and egg dishes

Implications:

Meat-heavy menus are under the most cost pressure. Options: tighten portions, use braising cuts and specials, and feature non-meat dishes that use dairy or vegetables.
Dairy and eggs are getting cheaper in real terms — quiches, custards, cheese-based dishes and breakfast items can improve margin.
Oils and sugar — small tweaks (fryer management, portion control on desserts) help when you’re doing restaurant inventory management and recipe costing.

With inflation moderating to around 3.7% in 2026, keeping a 28–35% food cost is still achievable if you track closely and adjust buying and menus to these benchmarks. Review your menu mix quarterly: if you are heavy on proteins, consider adding or promoting dishes that lean on dairy, eggs, or vegetables. Small shifts in what you feature can offset category-level inflation without a full menu redesign.

10 Proven Strategies to Reduce Food Costs

1. Portion control

Use scales, scoops, and jiggers so every plate gets the same amount. Train staff to follow specs. Even 10% over-portioning across the menu can push food cost up by several points.

2. Waste tracking

Log trim, spoilage, and mistakes (wrong order, dropped plate). Categorise: prep waste vs kitchen error vs expired stock. You can’t fix what you don’t measure — and waste often accounts for 5–15% of food cost.

3. FIFO (First In, First Out)

Store new stock behind or under older stock. Use date labels. Rotate so the oldest product is used first. Cuts spoilage and ensures consistency.

Stars: High profit, high popularity — promote and protect.
Plowhorses: Low profit, high popularity — consider a small price increase or cost reduction.
Puzzles: High profit, low popularity — market them more.
Dogs: Low profit, low popularity — shrink the portion, raise the price, or remove.

This matrix helps you focus on items that make money and fix or drop the rest.

5. Supplier negotiation and shopping around

Get quotes from multiple suppliers for your top 20–30 items. Even if you stay with your main supplier, having alternatives keeps them honest. Agree on payment terms (e.g. 30 days) to ease cash flow. Commit to volumes where it gets you a better price (e.g. full case of chicken instead of loose pieces). Revisit contracts when ingredient costs move — and when SA inflation shifts, as with the current meat and dairy divergence. Lock in longer-term prices only when you’re confident in the trend.

When a vegetable or protein is in season and cheap, feature it. When something spikes (e.g. meat at 11.7% inflation), reduce its role or swap to alternatives. A short “market special” section keeps your food cost in check without a full menu redesign.

7. Cross-utilisation of ingredients

Design dishes so the same ingredients appear across the menu (e.g. one cheese in several items). You buy in bulk, reduce variety in the cold room, and cut waste from half-used packs.

8. Staff training on waste and cost

Brief the team on why portion control and waste logs matter. Tie it to bonuses or targets if appropriate. A culture that “owns” food cost will protect margin without you policing every plate.

9. Daily or weekly counts of high-value items

You don’t have to count everything every day. Focus on expensive items: meat, seafood, cheese, premium oils. Quick counts catch theft and over-use early.

10. Technology for real-time tracking

Use a POS and inventory system that tracks usage, stock levels, and recipe costs. When you log sales and waste, the system can show you running food cost and alert you when you exceed your target. Tools like Tafela integrate recipe costing, stock and sales so you see the impact of every change.

Three quick wins to start today

If you are not yet doing formal food cost tracking, these three steps will move the needle without a full system overhaul:

Do one full inventory count this week. Value everything in your cold room, dry store, and prep area at cost. Write it down. Repeat at the same time next week. The difference (plus what you bought) is your COGS for that week. Divide by food revenue and you have your first real food cost percentage.
Cost your top five bestsellers. Pick the five dishes that sell the most. List every ingredient, work out cost per portion (use scales; convert to grams), and add them up. You will often find one or two items with a far higher food cost than you assumed. Those are the levers to pull first — portion size, price, or recipe change.
Put a waste bowl in the kitchen and log it. For one week, have staff put all trim and mistake food in a dedicated container. Weigh it at the end of each day and note what was wasted. The number will surprise you. Once you see it, you can set targets to reduce it and tie them to your restaurant inventory management routine.

Using Technology to Automate Food Cost Tracking

Manual spreadsheets and clipboards work, but they’re slow and error-prone. Modern restaurant systems can automate most of the heavy lifting.

How POS and inventory systems help

Recipe and plate costing: Enter recipes with gram-level quantities and current ingredient prices. The system calculates plate cost and food cost % per item and for the menu as a whole. When you change a supplier price, every affected recipe recalculates — no more hunting through spreadsheets.
Stock levels: Record deliveries and use (via recipes linked to sales and waste). You get real-time or daily stock values and can trigger reorders before you run out. Some systems support barcode scanning for faster receiving and counts.
Waste logging: Staff log waste by reason (spoilage, error, trim). You see which categories and items are costing you the most, so you can fix prep procedures or portion sizes.
Alerts: Set a target food cost % (e.g. 32%). When actual cost exceeds it (over a day, week, or month), you get an alert so you can investigate before the problem compounds.

In practice, that means a food cost percentage calculator that updates with your actual sales and usage: when a sale is rung up, the system deducts the recipe’s ingredients from stock; when you receive a delivery, you enter quantities and the system updates costs and stock levels. No more end-of-month surprises — you see where you stand in real time.

What to look for in a system

When comparing options (see our best restaurant POS systems South Africa guide), check:

Integrated recipe builder with ingredient costs and portion sizes.
Inventory linked to recipes and sales (so usage is calculated from what you sold).
Reports that show food cost %, COGS, and variance vs previous periods.
Ease of use so managers and staff will actually use it daily.

Tafela is built for South African restaurants and includes recipe costing with gram-level precision, inventory tracking, waste logging, and reports that show exactly where your food cost stands — so you can take action instead of guessing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?

For full-service restaurants in South Africa, 28–35% is a common and healthy range. Fast food and QSR often sit at 25–30% because of higher volume and standardised portions. “Good” depends on your concept: fine dining may run 30–35%, while a high-volume burger operation might target 25–28%. The key is to know your number and keep it stable.

How often should I calculate food costs?

At minimum, monthly: do a full inventory count, add purchases, subtract ending inventory for COGS, and divide by food revenue. For tighter control, weekly food cost calculations (or at least weekly counts of high-value items) help you catch problems before they blow the month’s margin. Many operators do weekly COGS with a full count once a month.

How do I handle food cost increases without raising prices?

Options include: (1) Reduce portions slightly while keeping presentation and satisfaction. (2) Change specs — e.g. switch to a cheaper cut or a more affordable brand where quality allows. (3) Feature lower-inflation categories — e.g. dairy and eggs are declining in SA, so highlight those dishes. (4) Cut waste through portion control, FIFO, and waste tracking. (5) Negotiate or switch suppliers for key lines. (6) Raise prices selectively on your lowest-margin or most inflated items rather than across the board.

What’s the difference between food cost and prime cost?

Food cost is COGS (ingredients) as a % of food revenue. Prime cost = COGS + labour cost (wages, benefits, payroll taxes) as a % of total revenue. Prime cost is often kept at or below 60–65%. So you can have a good food cost but still struggle if labour is too high — both need to be managed.

List every ingredient in the recipe with the exact quantity you will use per portion (in grams or ml). Look up your current cost per unit for each ingredient (from your last invoice or supplier list), then multiply by the quantity used. Add all ingredients to get the plate cost. Divide by your target food cost percentage (e.g. 0.30 for 30%) to get the minimum selling price. Round up to a price that fits your menu and feels right to customers. If the required price is too high, adjust the recipe (cheaper cut, smaller portion, or different garnish) until the numbers work.

Why does my calculated food cost not match my actual profit?

Common reasons: (1) Inventory errors — wrong counts or wrong unit costs (e.g. counting in units but costing per kg). (2) Theft or unrecorded waste — product leaves the store without being logged, so COGS is understated and your food cost % looks better than reality. (3) Mixed revenue — using total revenue (including drinks) instead of food-only revenue in the denominator inflates your denominator and makes food cost % look lower than it is. (4) Timing — purchases or counts recorded in the wrong period (e.g. delivery on 31st counted in next month). (5) Free or comp meals — they use food but don’t generate revenue. Fix by tightening counts, separating food vs beverage revenue, and logging comps and waste. Over time, your calculated food cost and actual gross profit should align.

Take Control of Your Food Costs

Food cost control in a South African restaurant isn’t optional — it’s the difference between a sustainable business and one that bleeds margin every month. With food inflation at 4.5% and meat at 11.7%, knowing your food cost percentage, costing every recipe, and acting on waste and portion control will protect your profit.

Calculate COGS regularly. Cost your recipes to the gram. Use SA category benchmarks to adapt your menu. Implement the 10 strategies above — and back them with technology that tracks inventory, waste, and recipe costs in one place.

Take control of your food costs with Tafela’s built-in recipe costing and inventory tracking. Start from R199/mo.

For more on running a restaurant in SA, see how to start a restaurant in South Africa.